The Family Reunited
by Violaead
Summary: Set after MoM. Billian, Tiola, feels.


'CILLIAN!' I hear it like an explosion, a deafening amount of Noise directed right at me.

Ben? At first I don't believe what I'm seeing, I don't want to face the disappointment of it being just another illusion-

But no, this time is different, it _is_ Ben, I've found him at last! I direct my Noise towards him and God I wish I could be calm and explain everything instead of overflowing with emotion and throwing it all at him-

Maybe if I talked to him instead, but there's not a sound I can make and my throat is tight and I can't even speak at the moment-

There's so much I need to tell you, so much has happened since-

I show him everything through my Noise; the day I got shot, way back in Prentisstown by the Mayor's army, and how I survived, against all odds, as if the world had given me a new chance to start again and find him-

I show him how glad I am that it helped him get away, and I show him the fear I felt, because it hurt so much, I thought I was gonna die, then and there, and the mere thought of it just makes my heart ache-

He reaches out to me hesitantly, and his Noise seems different, but I my mind isn't clear enough for me to understand yet-

But then his hesitation just snaps and his arms are all around me and all I can think is Ben – it's actually you – this is real – I'm not imagining it anymore-

And over my own Noise I can his, and it's just loaded with lightness and I feel a bit dizzy because I've never felt so much emotions all at once-

I hold onto him tight, and I never wanna let him go again-

I listen to his Noise, that I've missed so much, and it's full of explanations, of why it's changed, how he got shot, but then he was saved by the Spackle, which he calls the Land, and how he found Todd again-

I realise I haven't even asked about Todd yet, and suddenly he's being bombed with askings again: Where's Todd!? is he alright? How did he do it? How did he escape the army? Oh God, is he well? Is he safe?-

He takes my hand and we're going-

Going to see Todd, _our son_-

And we enter a little tent, and there his is, my boy, Todd-

And he sees me and I can tell he wasn't expecting me to be alive, and I can see it all over his Noise, he thought I was dead. And he leaps up from where he's sitting next to a girl, and as he's standing face to face with me, I can't believe how much he's grown-

Last time I saw him he was still a boy, and now he's a man, and he's as tall as me, almost-

His Noise is full of asking marks and surprise and he stares at me for a moment, then I reach my arms out wide and he almost throws himself into them, and we hug. To my surprise, he's apologising, but for stuff that happened ages ago, and I don't even remember half of these things, and I forgive him, and he hugs me tighter, and I recognise my son in the way his Noise goes 'I'm gonna cry – (no, shut up) – I won't cry – I'm a man-'

And then he pauses for a second, realising something, and he steps back, his Noise going pink out of pride and embarassement, he tells me:

'Dad,' –now it's my tears I'm tryin' to hold in- 'This is Viola.'

And I see the girl, Viola, who I'd almost ignored.

And to my surprise, she ain't silent, but I can hear something, as if she had a Noise, and Todd shows that he doesn't understand it either.

He interrupts my thinking to tell me the whole story.

And it's a hell of a long story, but I stay silent right until he's done, and I feel so proud of my son, who saved Viola, managed to flee from an army of a thousand men, didn't manage to save Manchee, but escaped Aaron, was controlled by the Mayor's evil, manipulative mind, but still found himself again afterwards, who did wrong but also did well, and managed to make peace, and survived an acid-rifle, that's my boy, my Todd-

His Noise is going a bit pink, and he tells me that without Viola here, he wouldn't be alive at all, and then I see it in his Noise, all the love and admiration he has for Viola, and it reminds me of his pa and his ma back in the days.

That evening, all four of us sit around a campfire to eat, and it reminds me of how it was long ago, when it was just me and Ben and Todd, a cheerful little family. Now there's a new family member to welcome, and I'm still trying to get used to how much Todd has grown, how he has a girlfriend, how he saved a whole world.

And before we go to bed, I tell Todd:

'Yer ma and pa would be so proud of you.'


End file.
